Do Women Make Better Ghostbusters? Real-life Ghost Hunters Explain

The Ghostbusters reboot has always been a controversial beast, with some ardent fans - and I have to include myself in that collective - claiming that it isn't particularly necessary (and Bill Murray agrees with us on that one, guys).

Regardless it's happening, and despite my initial misgivings, I have to accept the current direction of hiring an all female cast might be a good way to go. It will separate the movie from the originals and create more of a side-universe than a continuation of what is already a classic franchise. Plus it seems to have got the talent locked down - as we heard Kristin Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon will become the apparition apprehending foursome.

However, this hasn't helped some of the controversy around the film, and as you can expect, it wasn't long before the usual Twitter suspects came out to deride the film's decision to cast an all female cast. Indeed, one reply to MTV's tweet announcing the decision stated: "F–king women ruining everything." That's an opinion I do not agree with.

MTV took this as an opportunity to do some of their in-depth investigation and find out what role women play in 'real-life' ghost hunting.

Do Women Make Better Ghostbusters?

Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, Kate McKinnon, Melissa McCarthy

Amy Bruni, founder of the paranormal tourist company Strange Escapes and one of the cast members of Season 7 of SyFy's reality television show, Ghost Hunters, explains that women generally do feature more prominently in the profession of ghost hunting. She claimed:

It’s mostly women who do the ghost hunting. There’s about a 75-25 split and it definitely skews female.

One of the main reasons, she claims, is that women are generally more susceptible to ghostly happenings and forces. Since 'communicating' with ghosts often deals with emotional matters, she feels women generally have better hardware than men. She explains:

It’s a hobby that requires a lot of empathy and sensitivity, and that’s a more female trait a lot of the time.

Brigid Goode, who is a member of the real-life all-female ghost hunting team, the Gettysburg Ghost Gals, concurs, adding:

A lot of the times during investigations we get better results than the men do. I am the technical person of the group. I am very tough. I am a strong go-getter. I run after whatever is there. I don’t run away from it screaming, I run after it.

How Can Ghostbusters Be Made More Realistic?

Of course, the mere concept of making Ghostbusters more realistic is innately ridiculous, but apparently there are a few things Goode would like to see added to the new movie.

Know your equipment, and know what you’re talking about. If they use modern equipment, pieces of ghost hunting equipment that we actually use. Obviously, we don’t use proton packs.

Generally, she claims this will add legitimacy to a comedy story about a team of ghosthunters who run around New York getting involved in ghastly and wacky adventures.

Bruni also thinks technology is the way forward, and apparently there have been great leaps since Ghostbusters II was released. She mentions the use of modern day smartphones and ghost finding apps, while they also use EMF (electromagnetic field) detectors which work along the same lines as the Ghostbusters' PKE Meters.

Despite this, she claims there are some things Ghostbusters did get right.

Like ectoplasm, that’s stuff that we actually do investigate and find, it’s just brought out on a grandiose scale in Ghostbusters. If you really know the history, a lot of that is accurate in there.

Although she has gadgets of her own, she does also seem a little bit jealous of some of the Ghostbusters' tech. Indeed, it seems like she'd like to get her hands on the Muon Trap.

I don’t have a ghost trap or anything at my disposal yet, I don’t have to worry about crossing the streams. But that could happen.